July 28, 2010

This weekend I finally headed over to Domy Books. It's less than a half mile from home, but I knew that I could not resist spending at least a little money if I visited so I held off.

In a way I'm sort of glad that I waited to visit-it was a welcome distraction from this weekend's sweltering temperatures. When I walked through the doors it was almost as if I was transported to a far off land full of goodies that had been placed there just for my enjoyment. In short, it was awesome!

I made a mental list of several favorites (which I just posted over at my other blog) and ended up with this back issue of Aperture. There are several great articles in the magazine, but the one that drew me to it is about the drawings of William Eggleston (pictured above).

I highly recommend a visit to Domy if you are in the Austin area.

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I noticed lately that there have been a lot of questions in the comments about what camera I use and also what "techniques" I use. I decided I'd answer here so everyone could read it.

I use a Yashica TL Electro for almost all of my shots. I used to play around with all sorts of Polaroids, a holga, brownies and others but it's been awhile since I've done that. If I use something other than my Yashica, I'll try and let you know in the post.

I bought the camera for cheap at a thrift store. It's light meter is broken and the batteries have run out. But the camera can pretty much do everything without the battery. I just load regular 35mm film (I buy kodak from the drugstore or find similar film at thrift stores) and then advance the film manually. I just guess with the settings. What? Yes, it's actually pretty straightforward. I just loaded some film and played with the settings one day-and then I could see what the settings did what. Does that make sense? Notes are helpful with this process.

Anyway, that's all I do, no fancy tricks or techniques. I just load in film and play with the settings. I have almost no clue what each of them means as I have never taken a photo class or done much technical research on the subject, but I know what they look like and I think that is most important. You should do the same! I bet you'll be happily surprised. I really do try to think about what a shot will be before I shoot it-I think that's my real trick. If something is not the right color or shape or has the wrong light-I won't shoot the photo. I think it's the opposite of what most people do with digital.

July 26, 2010

Well, I went to go pick up three rolls of film only to find out that my photo lab had a bit of trouble with some machines this weekend. While I wait for all those photos I thought I'd share some more randomness from my archives.

July 23, 2010

For those of you who are new readers (or maybe never understood what
I was blabbing about) five senses friday was started years ago by my
friend, Shari Altman. I use it weekly as way to sit down and reflect on what the past days have been like for me.

I would love it if you played along-you can leave your own version in the comments or on your blog.

July 21, 2010

Sometimes when I'm taking photos I kinda of have an idea of a blog post in my head and other times I don't.

I was planning on doing a big post about the Blanton Museum and then I saw how some of the art looked with some of my food and decided to post the shots together. Random, yes?

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I ventured over the the Austin Museum of Art. There were couple of pieces that were truly amazing (especially one by Steve Wiman ) but after paying $5 and seeing only about 20 pieces of art, I was a little confused...

Surely Austin has a bigger art museum than that?

I was directed by a friend to the Blanton, the art museum on the University of Texas Campus. First off, the campus is beautiful. Big oak trees dot the landscape and the soft colors of the walls make you feel cool in the Texas heat.

The architecture of the Blanton itself is stunning and has a vast collection that includes just a little bit of everything. I found the small collection of contemporary art to be extremely well edited and enjoyable. And one must see the collection of art from the American West (this is Texas after all).

July 20, 2010

As you may know if you follow this blog; I sell my prints and paper goods made from my photos at my online shop and over at etsy.

Some people have asked why I have two online shops-and sometimes I am ask myself the same question ;)

I love the freedom of design over at my online print shop at bigcartel-but I've been an etsy seller since September of 2005 (back when I made carved custom stamps and made stationary) and I would hate to leave now...

I often feel like my etsy shop is like the little sister that gets left out of sales and big shop updates-so I decided I would do a special etsy only sale. From now until midnight on July 25, a buy one get one sale over at my etsy.

Buy any 5"x7", 8"x12", 8"x10, or 6"x6" print and get a second print of equal or lesser value free!
This offer includes custom prints, too.

Order all of the prints you'd like-and I will refund the second print's
value to you via paypal. Does not include a refund of the shipping
cost. Open to international customers, too. Feel free to order as many
as you'd like
Not valid on prints larger than 8"x12".

July 16, 2010

Hello out there! Happy Friday to you! I sorta can't believe it is the weekend already. Am I alone on this feeling, or did your week go by super fast, too?

For those of you who are new readers (or maybe never understood what
I was blabbing about) five senses friday was started years ago by my
friend, Shari Altman. I use it weekly as way to sit down and reflect on what the past days have been like for me.

I would love it if you played along-you can leave your own version in the comments or on your blog.